2010 Goals/Resolutions & PIF 500mi Club Check In

Since I decided to make my goals/resolutions public this year, I figured I should check in on how I'm doing.

• Find Li a big girl school that she loves as much as she loves daycare. Win. I'll make a decision this week.
• Teach MM to be nicer to her sister. Maybe that should be, teach Li to play with MM so MM won't have to aggravate Li to get her attention. Win, well working on it.
• Plan more fun family outings. Win, but I can't take credit really, between football and Mardi Gras, it's hard to avoid fun.
• Run 3 half-marathons with a PR each time.Win, maybe Neutral. I haven't run one yet but I'm working on it.
• Complete at least one duathalon. Neutral, gotta find one to sign up for.
• Loose 20lbs to be back to my fighting weight (i.e. high school) Fail. I'll get it together.
• Raise more than my goal of $2100 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Win, but I'd love to raise even more.
• Remember to LOVE my training. Neutral. You know how it is. Some days are easier than others.
• Be nicer and more patient with my husband. Neutral, I'm working on it.
• Work on my temper. Neutral, some days I fail, some days I win.
• Remember to smile. I'm going to call this a Win. 

I'm making progress on my goals. I wish I was doing better with my weight loss. Oh Well. I'll get it together.
 
Pay It Forward 500 mi Club/ 1000+++mi Club
As of today, I am at 81mi. for the year. Not bad. Not bad.  If I keep up this pace, I'll finish the year with 972mi. I could easily squeeze in the additional 30mi to make it to 1000mi. But I won't be in training over the summer. It's going to be tough. But that's why its a called a challenge.

How are you doing on your goals so far this year?

My Back; The Update

Thanks for all the well wishes. My back is feeling much better. My friend (and fellow Shuttle Sister) Mel gave me some good advice. She suffers from back spasms too.

With some rest and stretching, I'm back to my old self.

Ouch my Back...

Last night, out of no where, my lower back muscles seized up. It hurt to move. Wasn't doing anything strenuous. In fact, I was laying in bed with Li reading her a bedtime story.

I figured if I lay down for a bit with a heating pad it'd feel better. Nope. Then I decided I'd just go to bed. Maybe if I rest my muscles would relax. Nope. Woke up this morning even worse.  Dang! I got up and took some tylenol and went to work. As long as I didn't let the tylenol wear off, it was too bad. I could still get stuff done.  The only thing I haven't tried is a soak in the tub. That's the plan for tonight. It would be nice if I had some of the bath soak Staci at Weight Loss Mama
is giving away.

I like to limit the amount of tylenol I take because of the possible liver damage. If I'm going to damage my liver, I'm going to do it the old fashioned way. With gin.

I know this isn't horrible and will heal with a few days of rest. But how am I supposed to rest. I have to small kids. I'm a semi-single mom during the week. AND I'm supposed to run 12mi this weekend. My race is 4 weeks out. Now is not the time for rest. Now is the time for pushing hard. I hate not completing my scheduled miles.

I guess instead of running 12mi tomorrow and 3mi on Sunday, I'll run 3mi tomorrow and 12mi on Sunday. Any one wanna keep me company?

Win Super Bowl Tickets - The Brees/Evans Big Game Raffle

The Brees/Evans Big Game Raffle

Ok Saints fans, who wants to go to the Super Bowl to watch them win?  
I do. I do. 

Drew Brees and Heath Evans  are hosting a raffle for Super Bowl Tickets
GRAND PRIZE:

• Winner and 3 guests will be Drew Brees and Heath Evans special guests in Miami as the
  New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV (4 seats from the players allotment, Sun Life Stadium Miami, Florida, Sunday February 7, 2010, Kickoff at 6:30 PM Eastern)
• Winner will receive a Drew Brees autographed Saints Jersey and Winner and 3 guests will meet Heath Evans and receive a Heath Evans autographed item
• Winner and 3 guests will receive 3 night hotel accommodations (Saints Team Hotel -where the players are staying) in or near Miami (2 rooms, double occupancy check in February 5, 2010, checkout February 8, 2010)
• Winner will receive a $5,000 allowance for travel, meals, and other expenses

I am so buying raffle tickets from the website.

Wouldn't that be awesome? I might loose my mind if I won. 

Zensha Compression Sleeves & Give Away

Thank you Zensha for making the compression leg sleeve. They are the best.

Since I bought my compression running sleeves a few weeks ago, I have worn them more days then not. I wear them after long runs, after short runs, and around the house when I am cold. My tired calves sigh a sigh of relief every time I put them on.
The leg sleeves come in lots of lovely colors. Unfortunately, the store I bought mine at only had black in men's sizes. (My calves are man sized) Black is fine but I would have preferred red or pink.

 These are not my legs ☺

I also have the matching arm sleeves. Zensha has lots of great products I'm told. I'm looking forward to trying more products like the running skirt.

Today I'm wishing they made compression thigh sleeves. After running 4.6mi last night then getting up early to run a few this morning, my thighs hurts a bit too. Plus, I may try to squeeze in a few more miles tonight.  I guess an epsom salt bath might have to do.


A Couple of Give Aways y'all might be interested in:

• Tricia enduranceisntonlyphysical Nathans Trail Mix hydration belt
• Zoe runzoerun Michael Kors Gorgeous Weekender Bag

Beautiful Blogger Award

Lovely Libby at From0toRunner tagged me for the Beautiful Blogger Award

Which means that you, my darling blog stalkers, have to read 7 random things about me.

1. I do math like long division or multiplication of fractions when I need distracting, like when I can't sleep or am struggling thru a run. I find numbers comforting. I know, how dorky.
2. I can cook like it's nobody's business. I come from a long line of good cooks, even on my husband's side. But, you know, we're Cajun. We cook.
3. I am a afraid of the dark. I know, I'm a grown woman with two small girls. But I don't go outside when it's dark unless absolutely necessary.
4. If I could do anything for a job, it would be a rally car driver. I love cars and driving fast. And I'm pretty hand with a wrench.
5. I know that this blog can at times be uninteresting to read. I have lots of talents, writing is not one of them. But in my defense, between college & career, all of my writing is tech writing. And in technical writing being uncreative and uninspired is encouraged.
6. I have sense of humor of a 12 yr old boy. I love silliness and I think jokes about boogers and farts are hilarious.
7. I love schedules and routine. In my house, we live by the clock.  We eat at the same time everyday, go to bed at the same time, and I do my chores the same days every week. I don't understand how people manage to get everything done without  a set schedule.

Now, I'm supposed to tag 7 bloggers but I don't know seven bloggie friend who haven't gotten this already so I'll do as many as I can:

• Mel
  
• Laurin
• Kristy
• Scott
• Melissa
• Croughwell
• Running Becca

Oh wait, that was 7. Yea! Can't wait to learn new things about my friends.

Wait...Did that really happen?

Yes it did!!! 
NFC Champs, baby!!! The Saints are going to the Superbowl!!!

Everyone in New Orleans is dragging today. We all screamed too loud. Everyone's voice is hoarse. We all had a few too many to drink and too much to eat. Everyone's tired, smiling face is a little puffy.  We all stayed up too late, including my girls. I'm usually a stickler for bed time but we had a ton of people over at the house last night to watch the game. There's no way I could have got them to sleep with all of the cheering (and cursing) that was going on.

I can honestly say that was the best game I've ever watched.

My family eating, drinking, and watching the game intently

Now all we've got to do is beat the Colts. The Vegas odds have the Colts as 4.5-point favorites in the Super Bowl. The initial odds ranged from 4 points to 5.5 points. What-evs. We pulled this one out. We can do it again.

This week I'm going to have to put in a few extra miles to make up for yesterday and for what's coming. Between Superbowl parties, Mardi Gras parades, and St. Patrick's Day, I'm going to have to work hard to keep of those lbs.

And the Winner is...

Nikki at Still Running
(Send me your address to megmehell at yahoo )

Thanks everyone for entering. I'm so glad to have all these new bloggy friends!

Virtual 10K & Kiddie Encouragement

Virtual 10K
One of my lovely bloggy friends clued me into a virtual 10K. The idea is that we (the participants) run a 10k on Jan 23. But its since everyone lives in different parts of the country, we all run in our home towns and she'll post the times on her blog. The winners (the fastest and random indoor/outdoor winner) win wrist warmers she knitted.  

I love this idea.Its like that scene in Joe Dirt when he's looking at the moon "And at that moment I thought I might just lie there and never get up. I would just sit there and rot there, but then I looked up and saw the moon and got this weird feeling that Brandi was looking up at that same moon." When you have support while running, it makes the miles fly by. I'm sure this works even if your friends aren't right next to you.

I'll be running my miles on Friday morning, probably on the treadmill.

[Update: I ran this morning on the mill. My time was 68-ish mins]

Encouragement

Yesterday morning, Li woke up & came  downstairs as I was finishing my run on the treadmill. When I got off, she said "Mommy you're really good at running." My first reaction was to reply that I'm not, I'm really slow. But before I did, I decide to take the compliment. Because she's right. I am. I can run for hours on end. That's the thing 3yr olds. They have a different perspective on life.

It's Official...

I am officially registered for the Mardi Gras half-marathon on Feb 28th. Woohoo!!! I'm sooo excited. I wish it was sooner. I'm ready to get out there and do some racing.

Bloggy Give Aways
Be sure to tell them I sent you

• Kayte @ runninaround has a fund raising give away - lots of great running supplies
• Tricia @ enduranceisntonlyphysical has a Road ID give away - I love this product. I have one and have given them as gifts 
• Mel @ tallmomontherun has a My Little Pink Dots give away - Cutie tutus for the sweet little girl in your life

Don't forget Thursday is the last day to register for my Mardi Gras Give Away. The winner will be announced on Friday!!!

Oh When the Saints....

I don't know if other cities do this or if it's just NOLA's love of music. But there are tons of songs written about our Saints. These songs play on the local radio stations during football season. The boys are playing in the NFC Championship on Sunday and it's all any one can talk about. Since I can't get these songs out of my head I thought I'd share my favs with y'all.

This is probably the fist Saints song I heard. I remember being a kid and knowing the words.

 I Believe -Harrison Ave

A song that was originally written for the first post-Katrina season. This season was the first time in franchise history the Saints made it to the NCF Championship. It was exactly what the city need. This song was re-done for this season.

This is The Way We Live - Baby Boy da Prince (a local rapper) 

This may be my favorite of this group. Even if you don't listen to the others, listen to this song. It's uplifting and is not strictly about the Saints. I may be partial because Cowboy Mouth reminds me of good times in high school.

I Believe - Cowboy Mouth

This song is traditionally a hymn that we've adopted as a theme song. Growing up Catholic I could never understand why they play a Saints theme song in mass.

Oh When The Saints - Dukes of Dixieland

The first time I heard this song I cracked up. I like it WAY better than Miley's version. You've gotta know a lot about NOLA and the Saints to get the references. And my 3yr-old love it.

Party in the MIA - Datman

I'm sure I'm missing some. But as you can tell we love out boys and to write songs about them. These songs will be on heavy rotation until the season is over. We're favored to beat the Vikings by the Vegas stats but the spread is only 4pts. So this game should be fun to watch.

Last Saturday, we dressed in our Saints best to watch the game. I didn't own any Saints gear so I made my shirt. It's amazing what you can do with a bleach pen and a black shirt.


Who Dat!

Finally

Finally my scale has started to head back in the right direction. Three days in a row the scale read a pound lower than the previous day. Thank God. Negative Nelly was getting the better of me. I've worked hard to loose the weight and I've got 20lbs more to go.

Last week, I looked back at pictures of me from a year ago. Those size 14 pants were tight. Since then I've run six 5k's, trained for and run a half-marathon, am training for another half and spent countless hours playing with crazy maniac girls to loose 35lbs.

I know that it's normal to have setbacks but I'm very hard on myself. I've never been able to give myself slack for mistakes. But the weight isn't going to come off with negative thinking and berating myself. Hard work and eating right, that's all there is.

As of yesterday, I have six weeks until my race. I'm not nervous, at all. In fact, I'm exited. Saturday, Rachel (a girl I met thru Team In Training) and I ran 11mi. It was some of the best running I've done in along time. On a regular basis, I'm amazed that I run long distances. If you knew how unathletic and uncoordinated I am, you'd be surprised too. Except that most of you are runners too and you know that anyone can do this. Anyone. All it takes is determination. 

Weekend Cooking

Like everyone else, I don't have a lot of time to spend on cooking during the week. But on the weekends, I like to take time and cook big meals. Usually, I tend towards Cajun or Italian. When you grow up in NOLA, it's what you learn. But even with all the running and the weight loss, I have high blood pressure. So I try to make healthier versions of classics.

Friday
A friend at work gave me a big box of satsumas. Mmm...satsumas. My family's most favorite fruit. I seasoned white Drum fish, sliced the satsumas and added some rosemary in the pan.  I baked it for 10 mins at 400deg. Then broiled it at 400deg for 20mins.

Along with the homemade mac & cheese and salad. I was a very tasty and healthy dinner.

Saturday
The Saints Playoff game.  At the Big Man's suggestion, we made pizza. This was not quick and easy pizza, by any means. Having never made pizza dough, I did what all good engineering dorks do, I went to a book. Better Homes & Garden's cook book to be exact. I made the marinara early in the day and let it simmer on the stove. Then topped the pizzas with all kinds of good stuff. Sooo yummy. This will definitely be in regular weekend dinner rotation.

Hawaiian Pizza

 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Sunday
We had a nice little dinner at the Olive Garden.

Football Pool

Thanks to every one who bought a square of my football pool. Good luck.
Who Dat!

Prizes:
$150 for Half Time Score
$150 for Final Score


FYI....My Mardi Gras Goodies Give Away is still going on. 

[Congrats Cathy H. - Won the both 1st and 2nd halfs. $300!]

Grown Up Blog

Don't you just love the new look of my blog?  If you're viewing this on a reader, stop over to my blog so you can see it.

My friend Kristy, one of the Shuttle Sisters, designed it for me. These days Kristy works from home. But before that she, Goga, LB & I used to go to lunch as often as we could. Since one or the other of was preggers, it was pretty often.

Kristy's true calling in life (besides her sweet bebes) is web design. She would love to personalize your blog for you. Her website, Designs by Kristy, has many options for you to choose from. Her templates are an easy, affordable way to update your webpage/blog.  if you would like your page to be more custom and personal, she also will design it to your specifics. Her prices are very reasonable.

Unfortunately,  I did not make it easy on Kristy.  She asked me a few questions about what I want.  But since I'm not a creative person all I could tell was plain & simple, not girly,  with black, white and red. Yep, that's it. This beautiful page is what she came up with. I am very happy with the result. 

I guess now that I have a grown up blog I need to work on my writing skills.

Enough

Enough, Enough, Enough  

Enough of cranky, teething toddler who wakes up twice a night and refuses to go back to sleep. MM is teething. Normally, she sweet and in a good mood, although canille.  Eats anything you put in front of her.  And goes to bed at 6:30PM with little fuss.  It's been a tough few days. It's like I have someone else's baby.

Enough of this half -a$$ head cold. Commit to making me sick enough to need to take a sick day to rest or go way. Enough of this coughing all night, stuffed sinus headache, soar throat. Even if the baby was sleeping, I wouldn't be.  Dang!

Sorry for whining. I'm not a whiner but I'm tired. And I haven't run since Monday because I haven't slept. 

My Mardi Gras Goodies Give Away is still going on. Please take a minute and enter. Thanks.

Happy Wednesday!

500 Miles Club and Bloggie Give Away

Pay It Forward 500+ Mile Club

During my blog stalking, I came across the Pay It Forward 500+ Mile Club. Robin at the turtle has come up with a way to kill two birds with one stone. The basic idea is to raise 10¢ for each mile you run/walk for the charity of your choice.The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides is my charity of choice. I love this idea. I was planning to run the miles anyway may as well put a dime in my jar. 

But I did the math and 500mi breaks down to less than 10mi a week. (I realize for many people this is a lot and I'm not busting on anyone) If you know me, you know I like to set tough goals. So I decided to make it 17mi/week. That way I my charity gets more money and I have to keep up my long runs past race season. 


IFitness Race Belt Give Away
Also during my blog stalking, I  found another give away y'all might be interested in. Tricia at enduranceisntonlyphysical is giving away an IFitness running belt. I've been meaning to buy one of these to put my phone in. I hate being out of touch for 2+hrs on my long runs. Running shorts pockets are barely big enough for feul much less a phone too. Pls stop by her blog and enter the give away.

Saints Go All the Way

Oh I Believe...

The boys aren't playing this week but you still gotta show the love. 

Li loves to paint toes. Too bad its too cold to wear sandals. I'm sure she'll tell everyone about it anyway.

I'm glad you can't see that I'm missing part of my big toenail in this picture. Thank you running.

Our Saturday

Morning 
We had a relaxing morning yesterday. It's so cold outside I didn't feel like getting off the sofa, out from under my blanket. As Li was changing out of her jammers, MM decided to get her in the belly button with the stuffed snake. 

Lunch
The Big Man isn't a huge fan of soup but it's cold. And the January issue of Runner's World had a recipe for bean and ham soup I thought looked tasty.It was really good and I used some of the honey baked ham I had in the freezer. I tried to find the recipe online to link but I couldn't. If you'd like it send me an email and I'll type it up for you.

Exercise
Finally, at 10:30AM decided to get dressed for a bike ride. I figured my cold weather running gear would suffice. I put on as many layers as I could,

• running ear warmer & gloves
• long sleeve tech shirt
• running jacket
• oversized sweatshirt
• bike shorts
• running tights
• two pairs
• old running shoes

I was warm except for my toes. Old running shoes was a bad idea. The breathable mesh let in the cold. My toes were numb after ten mins. Besides my toes, I had a nice ride. The fountains in my neighborhood were frozen.
And yes, those are both our trucks. We live in Louisiana. What can I say.

After the ride and lunch, the Big Man and I did 35mins of P90. MM was under foot the whole time, per usual.(He uses the DVDs to exercise when he stays the night at work.) It was tough but not impossible. We were both sweating. When I woke up this morning, my inner thighs were sore. It's a nice feeling.

Date
Earlier in the week, I lined up a babysitter for a much needed date night. We're old and I turn into a pumpkin at 9:30 so we start our dates early. I mean 5PM early. We went to the 5:30 showing of Sherlock Holmes. It was fun. I love action movies. I tried to take a picture us but this is the best I could get. Not too bad except I'm missing 1/4of my face.

Then we head to our fav Mexican restaurant, Taqueria Corona. The margaritas are the best. I know they're not on my diet but...

This Morning
My pesky scale is still reading up a few lbs. higher than it was last week. I'm working on it but it takes time to work it off. But I'm not a patient person. Seriously, I weighed myself 3x yesterday. I think I need to hide my scale for a few weeks or I'll drive myself crazy.

Ok, enough rambling.

Mardi Gras Give Away

Love Mardi Gras and free stuff? 

I sure do.

Look at all the good stuff you could win. 

My first half-marathon this year will be the Mardi Gras half with Team in Training. I'm almost at my fundraising goal for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I would love to go above and beyond the minium.

All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor Faron Benoit. Faron is a typical 14yr old. He loves video games but is fighting Hodgkins Lymphoma.

I thought it would be fun for my non-New Orleans bloggie friends to get to experience a little Mardi Gras fun. And it's a good way for New Orleans friends to kick off the season. 

This is my first give away so have patience with any hiccups. So, what will you win?

Mardi Gras Wreath
made by me
In high school I worked at a craft store

King Cake (Yum)

Well, not this one. We're going to eat this one. I'll ship you a fresh one. 

 
Mardi Gras Party Decorations
including masks, beads, a boa, tinsel, fancy Mardi Gras king rubber duck bead, and Mardi Gras arm sleeves
You're family will enjoy the king cake in style

Arthur Hardy's  

Mardi Gras Guide 

This is the ultimate parade guide. It gives all the info you need for each parade; date, time, parade route, and signature throw. 

So, how do you enter? 

First go to my fundraising page @ http://pages.teamintraining.org/la/mardigra10/mfontenhra and make a donaton for virtual raffel tickets.
$5 gets you one entry
$10 gets you three entries
$20 gets you ten entries
$50 gets you thirty entries

Once you've donated, post a comment on my blog or send me an email: megmehell (@) yahoo. If you don't want to donate online, email me we can do it via paypal 

Double Your Entry
That's right I said, double. Blog, tweet, update your facebook status about this give away. If they donate and comment that they heard about it from you, you will get twice the entries.

Free Entry
If you become a follower of my blog, you'll get one free entry. If you're already a follower, leave a comment if you'd like a free entry. 

The Winner
The winner will be chosen  on January 22nd, 2010. I'll post the winner on this blog and will send email. 
 
So please donate and enter. Tell your friends. Help me raise money for the cure of blood cancer.
 
I hope y'all enjoy all the Mardi Gras Swag!

Warmth vs. Sunshine

My training calls for a nice, easy long run of 6mi today. I'm very glad for that.  

It is COLD here in NOLA. This morning's forecast calls for a high of 37deg. Which means, at 8AM when I'm running, it will be 28deg.  I draw the line at 30deg. So, I think today I am choosing the treadmill over the street. Normally, I hate to be cooped up inside when I could be outside in the sunshine.  Not to mention, Treadmills are BORING. Long distances aren't much fun when the scenery doesn't change. 

But I think I'd rather be warm and cozy, watching TV. Don't judge me to harshly.

Sorry. Got to brag a min. Just had a very proud moment at the girls school. Apparently, mine were the only kids to eat the turnip greens at lunch. Then they asked to eat everyone else's too

Bloggie Give Aways and More Stern Talk

Bloggie Give Away Goodness
 I was stalking, I mean catching up on all of my bloggie friends I missed during the holidays. I found two give aways you might be interested in.


Heather at Run Faster Mommy is giving away a big basket of running related goodies to help her raise money for Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. I love her idea. I may steal it to help in my fundraising.

On a side note: If you'd like to donate to my Team In Training for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society there's still plenty of time. I'm near my goal but I'd love to raise more than my goal.

Robin at Running Circles around Turtles is has a sweet bag of schwag. You should check out her blog. It's very entertaining.


Stern Talk with Myself

A month or so ago, I had to have a stern talk with myself about my training. I was struggling with the motivation to complete all the miles for my long runs. That talk has had a positive effect. I've been enjoying the training time and smiling thru the pain.


But now I need to have another talk with myself about my eating. I have been over-indulging since New Years. As usual it's the quantity not the quality of food I eat. For the most part, I eat healthy, balanced meals, just a lot of it. This is a slippery slope with me. If I start down this road, it's hard to stop. I spent too many hours hitting the pavement to gain the weight back because I can't control my proportions. Plus, how will I meet my weight loss goal for this year if I continue to be a pig.  And like all runners, I want to get faster. If I'm smaller, I'm faster.


Ok, enough berating myself. It's time to get to working on this.

Mardi Gras Mambo....

Today is the first day of the Mardi Gras season and I am sooo excited. It means eating king cakes, hanging out with my family at parades, and drinking beer at 8AM.

I'm going to buy a King Cake tonight!!!

My mom and my parraine (my godfather for the non-Cajuns) will go to every parade they can. They've instilled in me the love of Mardi Gras and I plan to teach my girls to love it too. My daddy and husband are not huge fans. But they are willing to come along, carry the ice chests, and stand in the back. These are important jobs. You need someone who is willing to stand in the back and hold the baby.

It's time to start preparing. I'm going to make the girls cute Mardi Gras Shirts. Also, going to start drilling Li on her phone number and address, in case the worst happens. Unfortunately, MM is walking but too little to talk. I'll just pin the vital info too her. I need to remind them about crowd safety and how to properly pick up doubloons.  Did I forget anything?

Hope y'all are excited too.

I'm in Love.....

If you're tired of reading about me running, you're in luck. Santa bought me a bike for Christmas and I love it!

In case you were wondering, it's a Giant Avail 3.
I haven't gotten much riding in yet. It's hard to do during the week when the days are so short and the Big Man isn't home to watch the girls. But spring is coming and I need to cross-train.  I can not tell you how excited I am about this.

Happy New Year

I know, it's been awhile since I've blogged. But, let me tell you, the holidays were crazy. I'll blog about our Christmas activities in the next few days. I'm glad to be back at work, to be back in our routine.

2009 was a challenge but my whole family is better for it...

• My husband was laid off. Then, he found a more fulfilling job that allows me to work part time. It's nice to be able to cook more and spend time with the girls.
• I've learned a lot and grown more comfortable in my work.
• I turned 30.
• Our girls are growing into tough, independent, sweet-natured javascript:void(0)people. Their personalities are very different but they are learning to love being sisters.
• I taught myself to run then trained and completed a half-marathon. Goals I thought out of my reach.
• My husband patiently supported me thru it.
• I lost 35lbs. My husband also lost weight.

My goals/resolutions for 2010

• Find Li a big girl school that she loves as much as she loves daycare.
• Teach MM to be nicer to her sister.  Maybe that should be, teach Li to play with MM so MM won't have to aggravate Li to get her attention.
• Plan more fun family outings.
• Run 3 half-marathons with a PR each time.
• Complete at least one duathalon.
• Loose 20lbs to be back to my fighting weight (i.e. high school)
• Raise more than my goal of $2100 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• Remember to LOVE my training.
• Be nicer and more patient with my husband.
• Work on my temper.
• Remember to smile.

Some of these are harder than others but I am nothing if not determined.  Thanks for reading my blog this past year. I hope you reach your goals in 2010 no matter what they are.